WE-NET Home Page/Summary of Annual Reports 1997

9. Study of innovation and leading technology

9.1 R&D Goals

9.1.1 Objective

The WE-NET project is a long-term comprehensive plan. It is, therefore, very important for keeping effectiveness of the project to make constant efforts to foresee future trends of technology and optimize the component technologies comprising an entire system.

Specifically, new technologies not included in the present R&D in each subtask should be researched and investigated and their significance and maturity should be evaluated. If necessary, their feasibility should also be studied in order to provide a basis for determining whether or not every technology up for study is necessary as a new area or item of technological development for the WE-NET project.

Up for study are innovative and leading technologies, as well as such conventional technologies as may possibly be improved or combined to give something new to the system that they make up.

From the foregoing point of view, Subtask 9 is designed to research, collect and evaluate new technologies. Further study will be done for them, if necessary, so that useful suggestions and proposals may be made as to the course for the WE-NET project to follow, as well as its R&D.

9.1.2 Phase I objectives

The following items of research and investigation will be grappled with during the first phase of the project to achieve the purposes mentioned in the foregoing section:

(1) Research and evaluation of innovative and leading technologies

WE-NET is made up of a wide range of technology as it covers everything about hydrogen production using renewable primary energy, hydrogen transportation and storage, and utilization of hydrogen. In addition to these lines of technology, the WE-NET project is expected to come up by 2020 with many of the innovative and leading lines of technology not included in present objects of R&D.

Subtask 9 is designed to investigate trends in these new lines of technology. A collection of new technologies will be checked for effectiveness and maturity in a comprehensive effort to make suggestions and proposals as to the course for WE-NET to follow.

(2) Study of innovative and leading technologies

New technologies taken up for investigation and evaluation in this study will be subjected to the minimum fundamental research if it seems necessary to see whether they are feasible or not.

(3) Research and evaluation of conventional technologies

Such conventional technologies as may be useful, if improved or combined to give something new to the system they make up, will be subjected to research and evaluation. They will be checked for effectiveness and maturity in a comprehensive effort to make suggestions and proposals as to the course for WE-NET to follow.

(4) Examination of new areas and items of Technology Development

Based on the trends in the new technologies acquired from the research and investigation up to the foregoing section, it is examined which new area and item of technology development should be reflected on the WE-NET project in future.

Table 9-1-1 Research plan for phase I

9.2 Results in fiscal year 1997

9.2.1 Collection of innovative and leading technologies

Table 9-2-1 shows the number of proposals.

Hydrogen Production by Effective Utilization of Wavelength Dependent Solar Energy (Toyohashi University of Technology)
Hydrogen Storage via Reversible Fullerene Hydrogenation at Moderate Temperatures Catalyzed by Liquid Hydride Complex (University of Hawaii)
Methanol Power Generation Turbine System (Toshiba Corporation)

9.2.2 Evaluation of innovative and leading technologies

With the methods established by fiscal year 1995, 4 proposals accepted in FY 1996 and FY 1997 were evaluated.

(1) Evaluation method

Proposed technologies are evaluated under a method that puts them through two steps of procedures, as they are first given marks for evaluation under the analytic hierarchy process that is known as AHP, and then referred to a committee for adjustment and consideration.

(2) Evaluation method by AHP

Scoring of proposed technology is conducted by summing up the points multiplied by the weighting for each evaluation item.

Determination of weighting : Analytic Hierarchy Process

Evaluation items : [Technical significance] ..... Potential, Performance, and Something new

[Significance for R&D and political decision] ..... Cost performance, Compatibility with WE-NET, and Internationality (R&D cooperation)

[Social significance] ..... Environmental load, Social acceptance, and Social spillover effects

Marking : Five-grade evaluation

Table 9-2-2 Five-grade evaluation

. Evaluation mark Points
Very good 10
Good 8

Average 5

Poor 2

Very poor 0

Scoring : Points = S (weighting x marking) ..... Full marks of 10 points

(3) Evaluation results

Four proposals accepted in FY 1996 and FY 1997 were evaluated. And evaluation results were:

Tehemo-Electrochemical Hydrogen Generation

--- Because a lot of negative opinions about this proposal were given, we thought that this proposal was contrary to our intentions and stopped evaluating it.
Direct Hydrogen Production by Solar Energy

--- It should be proposed again after revising the content.
Hydrogen Production by Effective Utilization of Wavelength Dependent Solar Energy

--- It scored 7.341 points.
Hydrogen Storage via Reversible Fullerene Hydrogenation at Moderate Temperatures Catalyzed by Liquid Hydride Complex

--- It scored 5.661 points.

The following proposals were highly valued in all proposals evaluated by now:

Table 9-2-3 Evaluation results by now (extracts)

9.2.3 Study of innovative and leading technologies

(1) Evaluation of feasibility studies conducted in FY 1996

Four feasibility studies conducted in FY 1996 were evaluated.

Table 9-2-4 Evaluation of feasibility studies conducted in FY 1996

(2) Feasibility studies conducted in FY 1997

Table 9-2-5 shows the feasibility studies conducted in FY 1997. Evaluation of feasibility studies conducted in FY 1997 is going to be done in FY 1998.

Table 9-2-5 Feasibility studies conducted in FY 1997

9.2.4 Examination of new areas and items of technology development

Researching the papers in every hydrogen energy technology area classified last fiscal year, confirmation of status on each area is started.

9.3 Research plan for fiscal year 1998

(1) Research and evaluation of innovative and leading technologies

Through this fiscal year, we will continue to research, collect and evaluate new technologies that could be the objects of development for the WE-NET project in future.

(2) Study of innovative and leading technologies

New technologies taken up for investigation and evaluation in this study will be subjected to the minimum fundamental research if it seems necessary to see whether they are feasible or not.

(3) Examination of new areas and items of technology development

Based on the status of the existing development areas and on the trends in the new technologies acquired from the research and investigation up to the foregoing section, we will examine which new area and item of technology development should be reflected on the WE-NET project in future.